Developer Interview: 10 Questions for András Csikvári / Blind Logic

Note to me: there is a noticeable large amount of Android developers, who are contented and smiling people in a stable relationship. You don’t believe me? “REPLICATE THIS”:

Look at Lou Hayt and his girlfriend, what a cute couple! Take a look at Eros Carvalho and his little family, they are so sweet! Or the happy Firedroid family! Or my personal favorite: Jakub Grzesik and his fiancé, the picture with the biggest “Aaaaaaawwww”-factor.

However, as you can see in the adorable picture below, András Csikvári and Ágnes Kerti join the ranks of the Android-esk togetherness as well . So let’s talk with the next two love-birds!

10 Questions for András Csikvári / Blind Logic

1. Please introduce yourself.

Blind Logic is an indie game company located in Hungary. We were formed in 2009, and we’ve been developing for Android since 2010. It consists of me (András Csikvári) and my partner (Ágnes Kerti).

2. What made you want to be a game developer?

Because we like to create things, and you don’t need a lot of people and tools for that. There are no limits and restrictions you have to obey, like you would need to when you make a billing application or a database handling program.

3. What platforms do you develop games for and why?

We only develop for Android at the moment. The main reason for that is that Android is the most well spread and fastest growing platform out there, so our games can get to more people. Both of us worked on big company projects, ones that were made for PC, XBOX 360, and the Web, and you can’t do that with a small team. Also, the games we prefer are just more fit for mobile devices and touch screens.

4. What are your experiences in porting games between two platforms?

Developing for Android is not easy, especially because you always have to look at more devices more resolutions, and even then you cannot be sure that it will look good or even work on every Android device.

5. How do you get inspiration for a game?

We model the games after the games we like and play a lot. If we enjoy a game, but feel that it lacks something, and think we can make it better or more advanced (whether in graphics, stability, more levels or just in general feel), then we start to entertain the idea of making something similar. We like to take something old and make it newer and better.

6. How long does it take for you to write a game from start to finish?

Depending on the game itself, it can be around 3-4 months. The next one probably will take more time (half year or so).

7. What are the biggest technical challenges when you develop a game?

Memory limitations. One would think the biggest challenge is the CPU, but during the development it became clear to us that memory limit is the biggest obstacle. I’m not sure if you know, but each device has its own available memory size for each program (24-48MB), and this size isn’t proportional to the amount of RAM in the device. This is a big problem, especially when this memory is small but the resolution of the device is large.

8. What do you think the future of gaming will look like?

With the release of the touch screen, a new input method arrived, one which developers only began to experiment with. For a few games, it really came in handy and gave new life to the genre, such as the tower defense games. Other games are finding it hard to implement their genre to the touch screen, such as the arcade games. I’m absolutely sure that there will be a lot of games in the future that will use the touch-screen in a yet unseen and revolutionary way.

9. What is your favourite game at the moment and why?

András: Robodefense. Well balanced, and with a well designed upgrade system. I’m always fond of games where there are separate parts for the missions itself and for the shopping for unit improvements. (UFO: Enemy Unknown)

Ágnes: Cut The Rope and Syberia. Because they are both really well designed, they put just the right amount of effort to everything, graphics, design and music.

10. What is your advice for new developers?

Have a timeframe, with deadlines, and keep them. Pay extra attention to the „don’t like“ tasks, like interface, and load/save.